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Saturday, Oct. 27 is the Drug Enforcement Administrations 15th annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. State officials and recovery leaders are working to raise awareness about the importance of having people clean out their medicine cabinets, removing the possibility of unused drugs finding their way into the hands of people who will misuse them.
Experts agree many of the addictions plaguing the country began with drug shopping in the family medicine cabinet. When there are no more prescription drugs available, many move on to heroin and street fentanyl.
This event is important because it takes unused, but potentially dangerous drugs out of the stream, said David Mara, state advisor on addiction and behavioral health. To me it is also a great venue to educate the public on the dangers of addition and it starts with prescription drugs. There are a vast number of drugs out there that can be misused.
In the Seacoast, many police stations are offering Drug Take Back Day locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. There are also many drop-off locations open every day, year round, including the Portsmouth police station and Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover in the main lobby.
According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.2 million Americans misused prescription drugs. The study shows most abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The DEAs Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths. Visit https://takebackday.dea.gov.
Key stats on the 2017 National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
Total law enforcement participation: 4,274
Total collection sites: 5,321
Total weight collected: 912,305 pounds
The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative of New Hampshire is an alliance of local, state and national organizations committed to helping end the opioid crisis in the state. Paul Young of RALI NH said the hope this year is get even better numbers, to educate the public about the need to take part, and to get Deterra disposal bags into the hands of as many people as possible. The bags allow for safe disposal of prescription drugs at home, in doctors offices and hospitals.
Young is president of DISMAS Home of New Hampshire in Manchester, a transitional home for women, particularly those coming out of prison. All of the women had addiction issues, he said. They have no safe place to go on their own.
Young and RALI NH are working with recovery groups and the New Hampshire Hospital Association to get Deterra bags, a program spearheaded by Jim and Jeanne Moser of Exeter following the loss of their son Adam to an overdose.
We have given grants to groups like Chuckys Fight, Hope on Haven Hill and Safe Harbor to help in the recovery efforts, said Young. We are doing PSAs (public service announcements) asking people to be more involved. No one is untouched by this. My son knows seven people who have died of an overdose.
Chucky Rosa of Chuckys Fight lost a child to opioids. He will use a $50,000 grant from RALI NH to continue funding scholarships as he calls them. He helps people who are sincerely trying to get help but may not be able to afford to enter a treatment program.
Drug Take Back Day is really important, said Rosa. My analogy is this I like sweets and if there is ice cream in the house, I will find a way to justify having some, like I worked out today, so why not? Its because its in the house. The same goes for prescription drugs. A young person in the house who might not really need it, but has some interest, may try it, because its there. Or, they are having a bad day, and think it might get them though again because its there. So, dont have it there. Get rid of it.
From our perspective, the most important thing people gain from Take Back Day is the education they receive, said Jim Moser of Zero Left. This goes further than the disposal of drugs, which is important. It allows conversations to start, with your children, with neighbors and aunts and uncles.
Moser said RALI NH has been instrumental in expanding the reach of the deterra bags.
Vanessa Stafford, director of communications at the New Hampshire Hospital Association, said in working with RALI NH, NHHA launched a distribution of Deterra bags to every hospital in the state.
RALI donated 70,000 pouches, said Stafford. Realistically, thats a drop in the bucket when compared to the number of opioid prescriptions given out in hospitals. But, it opens the conversation. All providers can share information with their patients about the importance of the Zero Left program. Its extremely important and I think we can do more.
Rockingham County Commissioner Kevin St. James, a firefighter and EMT, is on the front lines of the opioid crisis. Last Saturday, St. James, who also works as a court bailiff, said they administered Narcan to a 25-year-old woman.
She had been incarcerated and on Friday posted on her Facebook page ‘Im back bitches,’ said St. James. On Saturday, we brought her back to life.
St. James said he, like many others, had a medicine cabinet full of leftover prescriptions. He said Zero Left opened his eyes.
I was a regular pharmacy, he said. I realized that when something happens, like my daughters wisdom teeth being removed, that she needs four days of relief. She doesnt need 60 pills.
To find all drop-off locations, visit https://takebackday.dea.gov or www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcbcs/bdas/documents/drop-box-locations.pdf.
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